The crew of the Australian minehunter HMAS Huon has found a missing American World War II plane during a mine clearance operation in the Solomon Islands. The South West Pacific nation was the scene of bitter fighting between US and Japanese forces from 1942 until 1945. At the request of the United S
With an order book of over $3 billion, Austal is the only Australian company to make it into the top 100 defence companies in the world. Operating shipyards in Australia, U.S. and the Philippines, the company constructs ships for both the defence and commercial sector. Defence is at the company’s co
Improved strategies in the sustainment of Royal Australian Navy Collins-class submarines have allowed the Australian Navy to have two submarines available for operations 90% of the time, an independent review has shown. The follow-up review on the progress made in addressing the findings of the orig
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has contracted Canadian OSI Maritime Systems to supply two integrated bridge systems (IBS) to the Royal Australian Navy for the AOR (auxiliary oiler replenishment) program. The IBS is based on OSI’s warship INTS (integrated navigation & tactical system) design which OSI
Australian naval officers recently graduated from a two month Aegis combat systems course at the Combat Systems Engineering Development Site (CSEDS) in New Jersey, United States. The officers learned to use the Aegis Combat System that is installed onboard the RAN’s newest Air Warfare Destroyer, the
The Royal New Zealand Navy is hosting a 15-nation International Naval Review to mark the 75th anniversary of its existence. The review is scheduled to take place in Auckland next month and is set to see at least 20 vessels and a number of aircraft take part in exercises and manifestations. For the f
U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) arrived at the Singaporean Changi Naval Base to begin a rotational deployment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Coronado’s arrival in Singapore on October 16 marks the first deployment of an Independence-variant littoral combat ship to Southeast Asia and
The Australian Department of Defence and Boeing Defence Australia have signed a contract for the next four years of sustainment for the Australian next generation of maritime patrol and response aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon. Australia plans to operate a total of 15 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. 12 P-8A Mar
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Vancouver arrived in Singapore October 11 for a goodwill visit as part of Westploy 16. Westploy 16 is HMCS Vancouver’s deployment aimed at building ties between the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the navies of Asia-Pacific countries. Since departing its home port of
Australian submarine and shipbuilder ASC announced October 11 that the Australian Government decided to separate the company into three businesses. According to the decision, ASC is splitting into separate shipbuilding, submarine sustainment and infrastructure companies. The board and management of
A team of Royal Australian Navy clearance divers have been part of the team that cleared over 10 tonnes of World War II munitions in the Solomon Islands. They worked with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force on Guadalcanal during operation Render Safe 16 to enhance the underwater clearance capabil
Australian shipbuilder Austal has announced that it was contracted to deliver a mid-life remediation program to the Royal Australian Navy’s Armidale Class patrol boat (ACPB) fleet. The company said it would undertake a number of hull remediation and configuration changes as well as planned and corre
Following a five month deployment to south-east Asia, Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean returned to Fleet Base West, in Rockingham, Western Australia last week. Sheean’s deployment included visits to Singapore, Kuantan, Subic Bay and Darwin as well as involvement in Exercise Kakadu, held in the
The first upgraded Standard Missile (SM-2) All-Up Round was delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in what is considered a major capability upgrade for the navy. Hobart class destroyers will be the first Australian warships to be equipped with the upgraded Standard Missile (SM-2). According to Direc